{"id":222362,"date":"2025-03-31T07:52:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T05:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arabtelegraph.com\/?p=222362"},"modified":"2025-03-31T07:52:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T05:52:54","slug":"us-sponsored-white-helmets-al-qaeda-offshoot-loses-usaid-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabtelegraph.com\/?p=222362","title":{"rendered":"US-Sponsored White Helmets: Al-Qaeda* Offshoot Loses USAID Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article__header\">\n<div class=\"article__announce-text\" dir=\"ltr\">The Trump administration has halted the flow of millions of US tax dollars to the White Helmets, a controversial Syrian group. What did they do and who benefitted?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__body\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">The group\u00a0staged false flag\u00a0chemical attacks to provoke the West&#8217;s retaliation against then Syrian government. At least\u00a040 White Helmets members\u00a0admitted to staging attacks in the country, according to Russia&#8217;s Foundation for the Study of Democracy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">In 2016, the White Helmets used five-year-old Omran as a propaganda tool during the Syrian Army&#8217;s siege of\u00a0Aleppo. A viral photo of him covered in dust and blood aimed to smear Damascus and its Russian allies. In 2017, his father revealed it was staged.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"media\">\n<div class=\"article__media\">\n<div class=\"media\" data-media-tipe=\"photo\">\n<div class=\"media__size\">\n<div class=\"photoview__open\" data-photoview-group=\"1121706472\" data-photoview-src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1440x900_80_0_1_c40adfe6127b47c2e23ebd881979b9fc.png.webp?source-sid=\" data-photoview-image-id=\"1067618840\" data-photoview-sharelink=\"https:\/\/sputnikglobe.com\/20250328\/us-sponsored-white-helmets-al-qaeda-offshoot-loses-usaid-funding--1121706472.html?share-img=1067618840\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"CNN anchor Kate Bolduan chokes up after Omran Daqneesh, 5, was injured in an alleged airstrike. The boy's father came out in support of Assad and criticized rebel groups for using his son's image as propaganda in June 2017.\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1920x0_80_0_0_c27db400b50f61047be849984bd41e3c.png.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_640x0_80_0_0_fd582197fa4faa5c9b4ff39f5afd7d9f.png.webp 640w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1280x0_80_0_0_e4e5b390cf20d1bbd7c7c8c9e6c7a490.png.webp 1280w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1920x0_80_0_0_c27db400b50f61047be849984bd41e3c.png.webp 1920w\" alt=\"CNN anchor Kate Bolduan chokes up after Omran Daqneesh, 5, was injured in an alleged airstrike. The boy's father came out in support of Assad and criticized rebel groups for using his son's image as propaganda in June 2017. - Sputnik International, 1920, 28.03.2025\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-source-sid=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_640x0_80_0_0_fd582197fa4faa5c9b4ff39f5afd7d9f.png.webp 640w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1280x0_80_0_0_e4e5b390cf20d1bbd7c7c8c9e6c7a490.png.webp 1280w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/106761\/88\/1067618841_0:0:1780:1001_1920x0_80_0_0_c27db400b50f61047be849984bd41e3c.png.webp 1920w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"media__description \" style=\"text-align: center;\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><strong><em>CNN anchor Kate Bolduan chokes up after Omran Daqneesh, 5, was injured in an alleged airstrike. The boy&#8217;s father came out in support of Assad and criticized rebel groups for using his son&#8217;s image as propaganda in June 2017.<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__copyright \" data-nosnippet=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">White Helmets filmed a\u00a0false flag attack\u00a0in rebel-controlled Douma in April 2018. Russian media verified testimony from multiple eyewitnesses saying the attack was staged. However, the Western coalition used it as a pretext for strikes on Syria.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">Witness testimonies claim White Helmet members were not humanitarian volunteers but armed militants who recruited others and threatened them with death if they disobeyed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">As the Syrian Army advanced in July 2018, around 429 White Helmets were hastily evacuated through Israel to Western countries, according to Syria&#8217;s then-Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"h3\">\n<h3 id=\"1121706472-1\" class=\"article__h2\">Who Founded the White Helmets, and How Was It Linked to Al-Qaeda*?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">The White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense) were founded in 2013 amid the Syrian civil war. James Le Mesurier, a former British Army officer and intelligence operative with\u00a0ties\u00a0to terrorist organizations, established the group and funded it through Mayday Rescue.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">Posing as a rescue organization in jihadist-controlled areas, the White Helmets were soon exposed as a front for al-Qaeda by independent researchers\u00a0Vanessa Beeley\u00a0(UK) and Eva Bartlett (Canada), as well as eyewitnesses and verified photo and video evidence.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">Speaking to the Russian press in 2019, then-President Bashar al-Assad stressed there is enough evidence to identify former and current al-Qaeda members in the White Helmets ranks.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"media\">\n<div class=\"article__media\">\n<div class=\"media\" data-media-tipe=\"photo\">\n<div class=\"media__size\">\n<div class=\"photoview__open\" data-photoview-group=\"1121706472\" data-photoview-src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1440x900_80_0_1_e5a6a60ee1543b126a24d8e58732de0d.jpg.webp?source-sid=ap_photo\" data-photoview-image-id=\"1077280793\" data-photoview-sharelink=\"https:\/\/sputnikglobe.com\/20250328\/us-sponsored-white-helmets-al-qaeda-offshoot-loses-usaid-funding--1121706472.html?share-img=1077280793\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"FILE - In this image taken from file video, showing James Le Mesurier, founder and director of Mayday Rescue, talks to the media during training exercises in southern Turkey, March 19, 2015\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_a6036b3581387694c05d78f2f30b417c.jpg.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_640x0_80_0_0_13aecef6b81a51ee2eb265eba6937b37.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1280x0_80_0_0_df38a7d344da4e78a25c72a4306957bd.jpg.webp 1280w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_a6036b3581387694c05d78f2f30b417c.jpg.webp 1920w\" alt=\"FILE - In this image taken from file video, showing James Le Mesurier, founder and director of Mayday Rescue, talks to the media during training exercises in southern Turkey, March 19, 2015 - Sputnik International, 1920, 28.03.2025\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1177\" data-source-sid=\"ap_photo\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_640x0_80_0_0_13aecef6b81a51ee2eb265eba6937b37.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1280x0_80_0_0_df38a7d344da4e78a25c72a4306957bd.jpg.webp 1280w,https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com\/img\/107728\/07\/1077280795_0:0:3342:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_a6036b3581387694c05d78f2f30b417c.jpg.webp 1920w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"media__description \" style=\"text-align: center;\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><strong><em>FILE &#8211; In this image taken from file video, showing James Le Mesurier, founder and director of Mayday Rescue, talks to the media during training exercises in southern Turkey, March 19, 2015<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__copyright \" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<div class=\"media__copyright-item m-copyright\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"h3\">\n<h3 id=\"1121706472-2\" class=\"article__h2\">How Much Funding Did They Receive and From Whom?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">In 2019, Le Mesurier died under\u00a0suspicious\u00a0circumstances in Istanbul after being exposed for fraud. By then, around $129 million in taxpayer money from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and other nations had been funneled to the White Helmets via Mayday Rescue alone.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">As of 2018, the US had contributed about one-third of the group&#8217;s total funding, according to the Atlantic Council, providing around $33 million between 2013 and 2018.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\">The UK reportedly funneled $50 million to the White Helmets during the same period, while the Netherlands contributed $13.4 million. Funding dropped to $12 million in 2018 amid Mayday fraud allegations.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__block\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\"article__text\"><strong>Despite this, CNN calls USAID the White Helmets\u2019 largest donor for nearly a decade. The Trump administration recently terminated a $30 million USAID contract for the group.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Trump administration has halted the flow of millions of US tax dollars to the White Helmets, a controversial Syrian group. What did they do and who benefitted? The group\u00a0staged false flag\u00a0chemical attacks to provoke the West&#8217;s retaliation against then Syrian government. At least\u00a040 White Helmets members\u00a0admitted to staging attacks in the country, according to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":222363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US-Sponsored White Helmets: Al-Qaeda* Offshoot Loses USAID Funding - Arab Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arabtelegraph.com\/?p=222362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ar_AR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US-Sponsored White Helmets: Al-Qaeda* Offshoot Loses USAID Funding - Arab Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Trump administration has halted the flow of millions of US tax dollars to the White Helmets, a controversial Syrian group. What did they do and who benefitted? The group\u00a0staged false flag\u00a0chemical attacks to provoke the West&#8217;s retaliation against then Syrian government. 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